Israel slammed her for the de facto acceptance of an Iranian Bomb…
A key minister in the Israeli government criticized U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s statement on Tuesday that Washington would provide “a defense umbrella” for its allies in the Middle East in the event that Iran develops nuclear weapons. Dan Meridor, Israel’s minister for secret services, told Army Radio that the comments imply a willingness to reconcile with the eventuality of a nuclear-armed Iran. “I heard, unenthusiastically, the Americans’ statement that they will defend their allies in the event that Iran arms itself with an atomic bomb, as if they have already reconciled with this possibility, and this is a mistake,” Meridor told Army Radio. “Now, we don’t need to deal with the assumption that Iran will attain nuclear weapons but to prevent this.”
… but that ship already sailed when Obama floated extending our nuclear shield over Israel. And it kind of made sense that he would do that, even if it was a de facto admission that he’s going to let Iran go nuclear. The combination that frightens the Jewish State more than anything else is global diplomatic aggression coupled with regional military threats. So when Israel sees an Iranian Bomb being built with Russian diplomatic, financial, and technical support, they get jittery. And when Israel gets jittery everybody gets jittery.
But the opposite is true in the context of the Arab world. When Arab states get jittery about a Russian/Iranian alliance they unite with each other and look towards the United States for help. None of them are going to destabilize the region by attacking Iran.
What they have been doing is finding common anti-Iran ground with Israel, forging the kind of low-level informal ties that eventually lead to regional talks. Egypt, driven in no small part by Iranian interference in the form of multiple Hezbollah plots on their soil, has allowed Israel to send warships through the Suez Canal in preparation for an attack on Iran. There was even a rumor that Saudi Arabia, fearing encroaching Shiite hegemony, would turn a blind eye to Israeli jets using their airspace for a raid on Iran.
So a certain amount of Arab worry has become the key to Israeli self-defense against Iran. And yet it seems like Clinton is going out of her way to calm their fears, even at the cost of weakening the US’s hand against the mullahs. Hey, you don’t think…
References and previously after the jump…
References:
* Israel slams Clinton statement on nuclear Iran [Ha'aretz]
* Obama: Since We All Know That Engagement With Iran Won’t Work, How About A US Nuclear Umbrella For Israel? [MR]
* Iran’s prints are all over alleged Egypt terror ring [Ha'aretz]
* Egypt’s top enemy [Ha'aretz]
* Did Israel coordinate warships in Suez with Egypt? [Ha'aretz]
* Defense official: Israel readying for attack on Iran [Ha'aretz]
* Saudis give nod to Israeli raid on Iran [Times Online]
Previously:
* Gates: Israeli Attack On Iran’s Nukes Will Cause Iran To Pursue Nukes, Detonate US-Israeli Relations
* Purdue Nuclear Strategy Expert: Bomb Iran Now
* Israeli Military Intel: Iran "Halfway" Toward Nuclear Weapon (Plus: Syria, Hezbollah, And Hamas All The Way Toward Every Other Kind Of Weapon)
